Silverjet is close to being rescued after a Swiss trust company agreed to buy it out of administration. Kingplace, an Irish off-the-shelf company backed by Geneva-based Heritage Cie, finalised principal terms yesterday with Silverjet's administrators, Begbies Traynor.

Almost 10,000 passengers were affected when the all-business-class airline was forced to ground its fleet last month after running out of cash. The carrier appeared to be going the same way as rivals Eos and Maxjet, which have collapsed over the past six months due to the high oil price and intense competition.

However, Silverjet's founder and chief executive, Lawrence Hunt, has helped pull off an unlikely rescue as an adviser to Heritage's bid. Hunt had refused to blame Silverjet's demise on soaring fuel costs, instead pinning the responsibility on sceptical business analysts who had put off would-be customers.

It is the second time in a month Silverjet has announced a rescue deal. Last month it said Viceroy Holdings, a firm affiliated to an investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates, had agreed to inject a mixture of debt and equity into the business. Silverjet was forced to call in administrators when it attempted to draw on Viceroy's loan and found that there was no money available.

The latest deal may yet fall through because it is subject to contractual completion by the end of the week.

Hunt pledged to relaunch the airline's Dubai and New York services as soon as possible. Ian Ilsley, Heritage chairman and a director of Kingplace, said the new owners would honour the tickets of customers stranded when Silverjet ran out of cash, if a deal was completed.

"Kingplace can confirm that it has agreed terms with Begbies Traynor to acquire Silverjet. If these negotiations are successful, we expect to take on all of the existing staff, to honour Silverjet's existing customers' tickets and see Silverjet return to the skies in a matter of weeks."

High oil prices have meant even highly profitable carriers such as Ryanair and British Airways struggled to avoid a pre-tax loss this year. Oil cost about $50 a barrel when Silverjet launched its maiden flight in January 2007 but the current price of more than $130 a barrel has wiped out a number of US carriers. Silverjet, which flies three planes, has burned through about £70m since its launch.